A: Right now, the major planned improvement is creation of several different levels, so that players can compete against teams of their choosing. Other planned improvements include better graphics, animation, and prizes. Bear with us, we'll get there!

Q: How can such a great game be free?

A: It is free in the sense that you do not need to provide payment or donations of any kind. However, although you will see NO POP-UPS, hidden or otherwise, I decided to make the statistics pages a little more readable by placing an advertisement after every so many lines, and to make various other pages more interesting by placing advertisements on them as well.

Q: Why can't most or all of my players hit the ball at least 350 feet?

A: All players are capable of hitting the ball the 350 feet necessary for a home run. Remember to read the instructions below the field on the game play screen (you may have to scroll down) regarding how to hit the ball farther.

Q: How am I supposed to compete if I get a bunch of players with poor abilities?

A: The total number of "ability points" distributed among the players on a team is roughly the same for each team. However, if you don't like the way your team is laid out, delete it and make another one!

Q: How do I know for sure if I've earned enough points to win a prize?

A: N/A

Q: I know various web technologies pretty well. Can I help improve this game?

A: Possibly. We're not making any guarantees but we could use some expertise in the following areas: Flash, Java Applets, Web Site Marketing, Security. If you're interested, let us know and maybe we can work something out.

Q: Why did you make this game? How long did it take you?

A: I'm glad you asked. As an avid baseball player and enthusiast, I naturally enjoyed playing baseball video games when I was a kid, and I continue to enjoy playing RealSports Baseball (Atari 5200), SNK Baseball Stars (NES), and HardBall (IBM PC). While some of those games obviously blow away Grand Slam Derby in many aspects, I found that neither those nor any other video baseball game I've come upon since offer a realistic and satisfying batting experience, which I consider to be the most exciting part of the game of baseball. So when I was about 8, I began developing a game in BASIC where the ball appears to come toward you and have some control over where you hit the ball (In the air vs on the ground, pull vs opposite field. I don't know about you...to me that's kind of important in a baseball game)...In other words, as realistic a simulation of actual hitting as is possible in a video game. To make a long story short, although development continues to this day on that game, (yes...in BASIC) as you can see I've reincarnated it into an online game as well. I hope you enjoy it and feel free to let me know what you think of it.

Q: I have a question. concern, or comment. Whom do I contact and how do I do so?

A: You need to contact the commissioner. If you've created a team, the fastest way to do so by sending a team memo to GSD Commissioner. Or if you prefer, there's always email. Either way, don't worry about formailities--put as much information as you have in the first memo or email and hopefully we'll be able to address your concern before we even reply which will be as soon as possible.

Q: It's fun competing against everyone in the world, but I'd also like to compete just against a few of my friends. Can I do this?

A: Yes! Get your friends to change their division to the same thing. Then, on the stats pages, make sure to check the box labeled, "Show My Division Only", and only the stats for players and teams in your division will be shown. If you don't want other teams in your division, simply choose a division name that is hard to guess (security by obscurity) and don't tell anyone. If you want anyone to be able to join, advertise your division name in your message to the world, send out memos, or advertise it in some other way.

Q: What happens if I begin a game and stop for some reason before it is finished?

A: As soon as you begin a game, a record is entered for that game with all of the statistics as zeroes. The stats are filled in for that game upon its completion. So if you don't see the secoreboard at the end, you end up with a fruitless game that DOES COUNT against your daily and monthly limits. As much as we'd like to allow for technical and other problems, since there is no way to distinguish between genuine problems and people stopping before the end of games because they don't like their totals, it won't be possible.

Q: I have a great idea for an improvement. What should I do with it?

A: Send a memo to GSD Commissioner.

Q: What do I need to be able to play this game?

A: All you need is a reasonably fast PC (at least 500 MHz or so), an internet connection (dialup should be just fine unless you want to hear the background music), and a browser with Java installed.

Q: What software/equipment/configuration do you recommend?

A: So far we've been able to get the applet to run smoothly using only Windows, though it works equally well on both Internet Explorer and various versions of Mozilla. We recommend a display of at least 1024x768, and the higher the better. Also, before playing the actual game, you may want to close as many other applications as possible, particularly other browser instances.

Q: I'm quite impressed by this site in general or some aspect of it and I could use some help or expertise on a project of mine. Are you interested?

A: On each of the 5 stats pages is a description in italics describing how to earn points for that category.

Q: What are soft points and hard points? Which count? What's the difference between them?

A: Hard points are points awarded for the 'daily' categories (Longest Home Runs, Best Grand Slams, Games). Once a given day ends, the leaders for that category can no longer change and therefore the points awarded to those leaders can not be lost. Soft points are awarded for the 'monthly' categories (League Leaders, Team Standings), and can fluctuate as the leaders for those categories change throughout the month. The monthly winners are determined by highest total points.

Q: I can get to everything just find except I can't seem to play the actual game. What's wrong?

A: Most likely your browser doesn't have java installed. Click on the link immediately below the large gray area on the game play screen, or go to www.java.com to get the appropriate download.

Q: Why does the Clubhouse link disappear sometimes?

A: The Clubhouse link appears only when you are logged is as a team. After 60 minutes of inactivity, you are automatically logged out and have to log in again before you again see the Clubhouse link.

Q: Can I do anything to improve my team?

A: Yes! You can 'spend' points you have earned by viewing your players and clicking on the plus sign next to the ability you want to improve. The improvements will bw shown as yellow extension bars after a player's base abilities, and will disappear at the end of each month.

Q: (Two Player Mode) What exactly is Two Player Mode?

A: Exactly what it says: if you're signed in at the same time as another team, you can play each other head to head. A few things to keep in mind regarding Two Player Mode:

- Games are 4 innings long.

- A pitcher can pitch only once every 3 days. If all of your team's pitchers have pitched during that time, you have to wait until one is available before you can play again.

- Unlike regular games, if there are 6 or more runners on base and the pitcher throws a ball, a run will be 'walked in'.

- If the game is completed, the winner will be awarded 250 bonus points and the loser 50 bonus points. If a team leaves before the game is finished, the remaining team will be declared the winner and awarded 200 bonus points.

- If the pitching team doesn't throw a pitch every 15 seconds, the game will automatically throw a fastball down the middle.

Q: (Two Player Mode) How do I start a game against someone?

A: Go into Two Player Mode from the Clubhouse. You should see the buttons to toggle the music and sound, and a white box at the bottom center with a challenge button next to it. If the white box is empty, then there are no other teams in two player mode who are not already playing a game. If there are any teams in the box, either select one and challenge them, or wait for one to challenge you. In order to encourage competition, all challenges are automatically accepted.

Q: (Two Player Mode) I can't seem to actually play the game against someone else.

A: (Two Player Mode) First, make sure that you can play normal games with the computer pitching. (See here) If you can do that, the problem is likely that you are being blocked by a firewall. To fix this, if you are at home, you probably need to go into your firewall software and enable TCP port 7194, both incoming and outgoing. If you're at work, you're probably out of luck unless you are comfortable asking your network administrator to open port 7194 so you can play games!

Q: (Two Player Mode) Ok, the game has started and the pitcher is just standing there. How do I make him pitch?

A: First, make sure you are the pitching team (if someone challenged you, you pitch first). Select the type of pitch you'd like to throw from the choices at the bottom in the middle. A Fastball will always go straight, and the other 4 pitches correspond to those you see when you view your pitchers. You can even name the pitches for each pitcher so that they're easier to identify while you're playing the game. Then simply click on the screen where you'd like the pitcher to throw the ball. It will not go exactly where you aimed it, and it may be way off if your pitcher doesn't have very good control and/or he is tired.

Q: There are pitchers on my team who aren't in the list for relief pitchers? How do I put them in?

A: This is because they have pitched within the last 3 days. You must wait before they can pitch again.

Q: (Playoffs) Finally. So how will the playoffs work?

A: A few days before the end of each month, the 15 teams with the highest point totals will be seeded into the playoff tournament, with the top seed getting a first round bye. The playoffs will take place from 7pm to 11pm EST on the last Sunday of each month. You can follow the progress of the playoffs by clicking on the 'Playoffs' link near the top of the screen. You can continue to play the regular way after the playoffs have begun, but once the teams have been seeded, they are locked in. So if you really want to make the playoffs, you should probably play all 60 games before the closing date, which is shown on the monthly points screen.

Q: (Playoffs) So how do I know if I made the playoffs?

A: The closing date is shown in italics on the 'Point Rankings' screen. If your team is among the top 15 by 5:00am EST of that day, it will show up on the playoffs screen, with the day and time of your first game. The day will probably be THE VERY NEXT DAY, so be ready.

Q: (Playoffs) What do I need to do if I made the playoffs?

A: As mentioned above, go to the playoffs screen as early as possible on the closing date, where you will see an entry for your team. Next to your team will be the day and time of your game. When your game time arrives, there will be a 'Play' button. Click it, and wait for your opponent to show up! If he or she doesn't show up before the 15 minute game interval expires, you should see the game award you a 'No Show' victory, and you will advance to the next round. Be sure to wait at least 15-20 minutes though.

Q: (Playoffs) What do I do if that time isn't good for me?

A: Unfortunatly there's no way to address this. We chose Sunday evenings for the playoffs because we feel that's the most convenient time for most players.

Q: (Playoffs) What if I miss my game?

A: In order to get credit for showing up, you must click the 'Play' button on the playoffs screen within the 15 time period mentioned. Remember, you can always see exactly what time the server has by looking at the top of the screen, just below the header. If your opponent shows up and you don't, he or she will be awarded a 'No Show' victory and advance. If neither team shows up, the higher seeded team will advance by default.

Q: (Playoffs) Why did you make 7 teams qualify for the playoffs instead of 8?

A: Because we really wanted there to be an advantage for the team that does the best during the month. It's a considerable advantage, too: In addition to having one less team to beat, the top seeded team will be able to use more of their pitchers in each game should they need to do so.

Q: What are bounties? How many points do I get for them?

A: Bounties are bonus points awarded for accomplishing certain tasks during counted single player games. The tasks and corresponding point values are as follows:

Hitting home runs whose distances total at least a mile: 1 point for each 10 feet in excess of 5,280 feet.
Hitting more than 5 upper deck home runs: 25 points for each upper deck home run in excess of 5
Scoring 27 runs in a game: 2,700
Finishing a game with 0 outs and 20 or more runs: 1,000
Hitting 15 or more home runs in a game: 150
Getting 20 or more hits in a game: 200
Being walked 10 or more times in a game: 100
Hitting 4 grand slams in a game: 400
Hitting 5 grand slams in a game: 2,500
Hitting 6 grand slams in a game: 6,000
Hitting a 27-run grand slam: 27,000

Q: How many points do I get for two player games?

A: You get bonus points for participating in a two player game as follows:

Winning a completed game: 500
Losing a completed game: 100

Winning an incomplete game: 400
Losing an incomplete game: 0

Note: Although it is not currently enforced, the commissioner reserves the right to remove points and/or games in which it is determined or suspected that both parties were not legitimate, independent and competitive.